ADEL, Iowa — Dallas County has received the first half of its $18 million funding allocation from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and last week the Dallas County Supervisors directed $5 million to the Dallas County Conservation Board to use to complete the Perry-to-Woodward connector trail.
Dallas County Conservation Board Director Mike Wallace said the federal funds will cover about $3.4 million in construction costs for the Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT)-to-High Trestle Trail connector and should permit the trail link to be completed within about two years.
Wallace said the conservation board will put the rest of the funding toward rehabilitating the south loop of the RRVT between Redfield and Linden, which is, like the connector, an ongoing multi-year project.
The county’s share of ARPA funds did not figure into the $48 million fiscal year 2023 budget, which the supervisors also unanimously approved last week after a public hearing that attracted two people in addition to county figures.
The county’s total levy rate for 2023 will be 5.14, a reduction of .78 on the 2022 rate and the sixth consecutive year in which the supervisors have managed to maintain county operations while also lowering the tax rate.
“The increasing tax base due to the continued development of communities on the eastern side of the county has helped the county generate sufficient operating funds without raising tax rates,” said Mark Hanson, chairperson of the Dallas County Supervisors. “In fact, we have been able to lower tax rates.”
The portion of each property tax dollar that goes to county government in Dallas County is significantly smaller than the shares levied by the 10 school districts and 17 cities in Dallas County.
“Schools and cities receive more tax dollars in Dallas County than the state average. Alternatively, the county itself receives a significantly lower portion of the tax dollars compared to the state average,” Hanson said.
